What was supposed to be the beginning of a beautification project at National Chest Hospital quickly turned into tragedy yesterday when a truck loaded with soil collapsed into an abandoned sewage pit and killed a man.
Hospital CEO Vincent Riley told the Jamaica Observer that because the property is slightly sloped, whenever it rains there would be much run-off that shifted the soil.
“A correct wi a try correct the area deh, enuh. So we started to dump back the area,” he told the Sunday Observer.
“A beautify wi a beautify di place yah so,” he added. “What we were planning was to landscape it, fill up what needs filling up and plant it out. That was the Labour Day project and we were preparing for it.”
“Labour Day turn funeral day,” he said with a heavy sigh.
Dead is 29-year-old Omar Walker of a Bedward Gardens address in August Town, St Andrew.
The Sunday Observer was told that the tipper truck carrying top soil collapsed into the pit after the earth beneath the laden vehicle gave way.
“Apparently the site man was directing the truck and so when the earth caved in he went down. The earth went on top of him and the truck on top of that. He was trapped for a number of hours. They had to get all the heavy equipment, not just the fire truck, but also crane to remove the truck and then, as you can see, the firefighters worked very hard to try to get him up,” Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who rushed to the site on receiving the news, told journalists.
“It’s a very tragic situation. Very, very unfortunate. Our prayers go to the family members who are on the scene here, and we will do whatever is necessary to provide some support to the family members,” Tufton continued.
The attempted rescue mission, according to Acting Assistant Superintendent for the St Andrew Division of the Fire Services, Paula Tennant, lasted roughly four hours.
“At 12:36 a call for rescue operations was received at the Half-Way-Tree Fire Station,” she said, adding that the station sent one unit and York Park Fire Station responded as well with two units.
“With the aid of Zoukie Trucking Company the body was removed,” Tennant reported.
“When I got here they were in the process of removing the earth from the pit where the gentleman was totally covered by the dirt,” she stated.
Tufton said he was informed after the tragedy that there are a number of abandoned pits on the hospital compound. “It’s an old institution, built a very long time ago, with a lot of renovation that has taken place over the years,” he noted.
“Unfortunately, it took an event like this, but I think it’s important to determine what, if anything, can be done to identify where those are and make special provision to ensure that this does not recur in the future,” he added.
The National Chest Hospital was constructed in 1938 and officially opened in 1940 for the isolation and management of patients with tuberculosis.
